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Poster: Finster! Date: Nov 7, 2012 4:41am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Forget ObamaCare -- Let's just rely on ambulances and emergency rooms!

right. I have a full time job and 2 part time jobs....just like my father did. Hardly the actions of a rich person.
One doesn't have to be rich to want more personal liberty and less government involvement in their life.

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Poster: unclejohn52 Date: Nov 7, 2012 6:06am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Forget ObamaCare -- Let's just rely on ambulances and emergency rooms!

OK. I am willing to be enlightened further. I'd like to understand how less gov't involvement would benefit the greater good, and which personal liberties that you regard have been impinged or hampered. How are they controlling you?

As to education - I believe a better-educated populace leads to prosperity for all, in an increasing spiral - better jobs > more purchasing power > more goods sold > to more innovation and investment in technology > to more jobs > more liberty in lifestyle, etc. I don't consider it an entitlement, like manna from heaven - but a goal to be achieved. I worked my way thru college, not a dime from my folks or the gov't. - but that was a different time, when college was more affordable to for all. Providing basic K-12 education makes perfect sense to me; making college more affordable is a goal.

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Poster: Mandojammer Date: Nov 7, 2012 6:32am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Forget ObamaCare -- Let's just rely on ambulances and emergency rooms!

I'll bite. Deregulate the health care industry to the point where both insurance companies and health care providers can openly compete across state borders. I'd much rather take a chance on a competitive capitalist free market functioning and determining prices than the Federal government attempting to come up with a level playing field across the country. It's a 10th Amendment issue - as are most of them.

The problems I see with this approach is that some health care providers will flock to areas of higher income concentrations chasing a buck - you could easily make the case that many of the "good" doctors will go to wealthy parts of the country over poorer areas. What doc wouldn't want to drive a BMW around Loudon County over a pickup truck around Appalachia? (The shitty ones IMNSHO). The extent of Federal involvement would be to establish standards of care that each State would have compliance oversight of. I could even see limited subsidization or incentivization for doctors and health care organizations who set up in economically depressed areas.

The Achilles Heel for the current model is the Big Pharma, Health Care and Insurance lobby. Breaking that link is the first step in breakig the stranglehold of inefficiency that is a federally "run" health care system.

I'm sure there are some health care professionals in this collection of misfits that could offer some amplifying or more accurate info. I threw this post together in the time it took me to type it and really don't have a lot of background in the health care industry except as the occaional unwilling participant.

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Poster: unclejohn52 Date: Nov 7, 2012 7:26am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Forget ObamaCare -- Let's just rely on ambulances and emergency rooms!

Understood. The healthcare issue is a very big swamp, on operational and dollar terms. I'm certainly no fan of Big Pharma, Big Health and Insurance lobbies or companies. Left to their own devices, these companies would suck us all dry, and cherry pick not only location as you mention, but the best (richest, least sick, highest-margin) patients to squeeze out the most profit and pay their CEOs huge sums.

So do you (and others here) feel controlled by gov't., and feel your personal liberty (in this or other matters) has been impinged? Examples?